Cianbro sets timetable for East West highway project | News

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BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --- Talk of building an East-West Highway in Maine has been going on for decades. Now the company looking to do it has put out a plan for the project.

Darryl Brown became Cianbro's project manager for its East-West Highway proposal last year. The company is looking to build a 220 mile stretch of new road which would run from Calais to Coburn Gore and cross I-95 in Old Town. Supporters say once completed the new four lane highway will create a better route for travel and trade across the state.

Brown says counting time for design, permitting and completion the hope is to have the highway done by 2023. He says he has already been talking with several landowners and leaders of towns to get the process going.

"We're updating folks and being absolutely transparent about this project in terms of what it will provide for opportunity for Mainers and for those communities we will be passing through," he said.

Yet the East West Highway has many opponents across the state. Many environmental groups are worried what it's impact could be on wildlife in the state. The Maine chapter of the Sierra Club released this statement to NEWS CENTER in response to Cianbro's comments saying en quote:

"The East-West Highway is bad for Maine and just because the company has decided to make a timetable doesn't change that."

"We certainly are opposed to this and intend to stop it dead in its tracks."